International Exchange Tournament(5)

As soon as I asked if they could spare me some time, I saw everyone flinch.

Although they quickly hid it, the team leaders of the General Management Team and the Execution Team showed an uncomfortable expression for an instant.

“……”

And seeing the Ancestor of the General Management Team blatantly showing her dislike even through her mask, Charlotte, the Ancestor of the General Administration Team and Empress of Vampires, swallowed a small laugh.

‘Seems to be quite a free-spirited personality.’

The fact that she doesn’t hide her emotions like that meant that the essence of the race itself was quite free-spirited.

After all, races that lived in societies they created themselves rather than mixing with human society tended to express their emotions unreservedly like this.

‘And it seems she has the power to do so.’

But of course, not everyone showed their emotions freely just because their race was free-spirited.

Even with such a personality, powerless weaklings couldn’t reveal even a fragment of their emotions, so being so bold meant having that much strength.

Of course, she was also an Ancestor, so how could she not be strong, but there weren’t many who could be this bold in front of Charlotte herself.

Therefore, even though the Ancestor of the General Management Team was showing her dislike, Charlotte felt her interest in her only increasing as she looked at her.

“Ancestor, … … .”

“Ah, then is that one?”

“Yes… So…, … please.”

“…Tch.”

The Ancestor of the General Management Team seemed to be listening to some information from Team Leader Lee Yeon-ah as if hoping I would just leave like this, and finally clicked her tongue loudly.

And as she opened her mouth again as if she had no choice, Charlotte looked at her wondering if she might be able to arrange a meeting, but.

Charlotte’s expectation was mercilessly betrayed by the words uttered by the Ancestor of the General Management Team the next moment.

“You, the Ancestor of the General Administration Team? I don’t know why you’re asking for my time, but I came here today to watch the exchange tournament, so just go back. I don’t have time to give to anyone else.”

“That’s… a bit of a disappointing answer.”

“Don’t think about trying anything else, considering it payback for the nonsense your exclusive hunter pulled last time.”

The Ancestor of the General Management Team telling her to back off, even recalling Evelyn’s incident from before.

Certainly, if she mentioned that incident and told Charlotte to back off, Charlotte had no justification to confront her, but that was only if Charlotte herself acknowledged that incident.

Unfortunately, this time Charlotte’s interest in her was so deep that she was willing to abandon even such conscience.

“…Hmm? I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s true that Evelyn was our General Administration Team’s exclusive hunter, but us sending her?”

“…Are you going to pretend you don’t know?”

“I’m sorry, but it’s not pretending, I really don’t know. That was something she did on her own. If you want to hold someone responsible, wouldn’t it be better to ask Seb here, the team leader, rather than me, the Ancestor? He’s in charge of all management for the General Administration Team.”

“Ha, you want to talk with me that badly?”

As soon as Charlotte answered so shamelessly with a thick skin, it seemed her desperation was conveyed even to her.

The Ancestor of the General Management Team let out a bitter laugh and grasped Charlotte’s intention, to which Charlotte silently affirmed.

The reason Charlotte herself moved all the way here was not to watch the International Exchange Tournament, which was at best mere entertainment, but to see the unknown figure called the Ancestor of the General Management Team, her alone.

Charlotte had a lot of things she wanted to find out about the Ancestor of the General Management Team, so if possible, she wanted to have a conversation with her for a few hours.

Shouldn’t she at least extract value equal to the time she took to come here?

Therefore, Charlotte had already expressed her intention through the conversation just now, but of course, Charlotte knew that this alone wasn’t enough if she wasn’t stupid.

“If you give me just a few hours, that much time, I’ll give you appropriate compensation in the name of the General Administration Team. Because the time you give me will be of great value.”

If the previous brazen conversation was to firmly establish her intention, this statement was to propose a deal to achieve that intention.

Moreover, since Charlotte wanted to establish the deal immediately without secondary adjustments if possible, the terms of the deal Charlotte offered were truly groundbreaking.

‘Ancestor… is this alright?’

Sebastian, who had been quietly keeping his mouth shut beside her, asked Charlotte like that, and the emotions of agitation were clearly visible on the faces of Yeon-ah and Seo-hyun behind the Ancestor of the General Management Team.

The reason for such a strong reaction was that the condition Charlotte had just proposed could be called a blank check.

None other than the Ancestor of the General Administration Team says with her own mouth that she will give compensation commensurate with the time she herself said was of great value.

That unspecified compensation was literally like saying she would give whatever the Ancestor of the General Management Team wanted, so anyone who knew its value couldn’t help but be moved.

Of course, she had no intention of paying dangerous things as compensation, but even so, it was a deal condition with overflowing reasons to accept.

Therefore, Charlotte was certain that this deal would be made as long as she had her reputation as the Ancestor of the General Administration Team.

…If there was one flaw, it was:

“I don’t need any of that, so just go back. That’s what I want most, more than anything else.”

She didn’t take into account that the current Ancestor of the General Management Team knew nothing about Charlotte herself.

Charlotte’s proposed condition was indeed groundbreaking, but if one doesn’t know its value, even a blank check is just a piece of scrap paper.

However, Charlotte never thought that the Ancestor of the General Management Team would know nothing about her, so when she heard her answer, Charlotte gaped like a fish for a moment before barely managing to speak.

“Wh-What… Wait a moment. Really? You’re really going to refuse? I said I’d give you compensation commensurate with that time?”

“What about compensation? I’m living well without lacking anything now, so I don’t see why I should accept.”

Damn it. Charlotte felt curses bursting out involuntarily at her words.

She should have realized from the beginning when she didn’t even know her name, but she made a mistake due to her arrogance.

No, in fact, if you think about it, it was strange for the Ancestor of the General Management Team not to know about Charlotte herself.

Of course, if it was the Ancestor of the General Management Team, there was a high possibility that she would have given the same answer even if she knew about Charlotte, but anyway, Charlotte didn’t have time for such leisurely thoughts right now.

“W-Wait a moment…! Then in addition to that, additional conditions…”

Since the Ancestor of the General Management Team had thoroughly kicked away the deal, Charlotte had to somehow hold onto her.

However, unfortunately, before Charlotte could hold onto the Ancestor of the General Management Team while mentioning additional conditions, she was faster in passing by Charlotte and opening her own room door.

Beep, Whirr—

As the Ancestor of the General Management Team standing in front of her room door tapped the hologram pad, the door began to open with a mechanical sound.

And with the final words of the Ancestor of the General Management Team who stepped into the opened room door, Charlotte could only blankly let her go.

“If you really want to talk, make an official request later. Of course, I don’t know if I’ll accept even that.”

Whirr— Click.

As soon as those words ended, the door of the Ancestor of the General Management Team closed immediately.

“……”

And in the end, all Charlotte, who couldn’t continue the conversation, could do was stare at the door she had entered with a dumbfounded expression.

Even if she knocked on the door asking her to come out just once more, she wouldn’t come out.

In the first place, she didn’t want to be branded as a crazy woman who she didn’t even want to meet by doing such a thing, so Charlotte fidgeted with her fingers and then neatly folded her hands.

“…Haah.”

“For now, I’ll try to make an appointment formally as the Ancestor of the General Management Team said. I’ll talk with Team Leader Lee Yeon-ah.”

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you, Seb.”

As Sebastian said, all Charlotte could do right now was to make a formal appointment as she had said.

And if possible, all she could do was hope that in the meantime, the Ancestor of the General Management Team would get to know a little more about Charlotte herself.

Flap flap—

“…?”

As she was organizing her thoughts and composing her dumbfounded expression, the sound of flapping wings suddenly began to be heard.

At that, Charlotte unknowingly turned her head towards where the sound was coming from, and what she saw was the figure of an Ancestor slowly flying in from around the corner.

‘The Ancestor of the Restraint Team?’

Judging by the pattern on her cloak, she seemed to be the Ancestor of the Restraint Team.

Although they had met once, they were unfamiliar beyond that, so Charlotte looked at the Ancestor of the Restraint Team approaching her without any particular thought.

Thinking that her room must also be nearby, which is why she came like this, without any particular significance.

“Tae-hyun, is our room here?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

And sure enough, seeing the Ancestor of the Restraint Team stop right in front of Charlotte and start opening a door, Charlotte took her eyes off her.

Now it was time for Charlotte to return to her own room as well.

If she didn’t want to be caught up in the crowd of other Ancestors who would soon come down to the corridor, she had to leave now.

Therefore, Charlotte straightened her posture and began to move towards the room given to her, but.

“Kik…!”

“…?”

Charlotte’s eyes widened at the sound of a sneer heard just as she was about to turn around.

In this corridor where there were only two people besides the team leaders, a girl’s sneer echoed nakedly.

At the fact that there was no need to say who the culprit was, Charlotte immediately turned her head to where the Ancestor of the Restraint Team had been, but there was already no one there.

Whirr— Thud.

All that Charlotte, who had turned her head a beat late, could see was the empty space in front of the door and the door closing with a mechanical sound as if someone had entered.

“…Huh.”

And of course, at that sight, Charlotte let out a dumbfounded sigh and twitched her eye corners.

The blank few minutes that followed.

…In the end, it was only after the Ancestors who had come down from the rooftop filled the corridor that Charlotte was able to return to her own room.